


In Defense of His Dignity

by watcherofworlds



Series: A Friendship Forged in Struggle [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 18:42:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8458558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watcherofworlds/pseuds/watcherofworlds
Summary: Bucky comes home from work angry. The reason for his anger surprises Steve.





	

_October 24, 1936_

Steve sat at his kitchen table, drawing a still life, for one of his classes, of his notebook, which he had propped up by means of spreading its pages open so that it balanced on them. He tilted his head, first one way, then the other, trying to capture the interplay of light and shadow across the notebook's surface. He applied a few pencil strokes to the drawing, then erased them, shaking his head in frustration. He set pencil tip to paper again. 

The front door slammed, startling Steve and making him jerk his hand across the paper, leaving a long black line in its wake. He muttered the Gaelic curses he'd learned from his mother under his breath as he scrubbed his eraser across the page, trying to eliminate the line. In the end, it had been reduced to a faint grey smudge- and there was a thick diagonal strip of his drawing missing. He frowned.

"Hey Bucky, try closing the door a little more quietly next time!" he called, because of course it was Bucky who'd just slammed the door-he was the only other occupant of the apartment besides himself. Silence greeted his statement. That worried him. 

"Bucky?" he asked.

"What do you want Steve?" The response came from the direction of the room that used to belong to Steve's mother, which Bucky had commandeered when he'd moved in a week ago. That too worried Steve. Bucky never came home without at least stopping to say hello to him.

"You okay buddy?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Bucky said."Quit worrying."

But Steve did worry. He couldn't help it. Something was obviously bothering Bucky, and it was troubling that he wouldn't tell him what was wrong. Steve glanced at his ruined still life and sighed. He was going to have to redo it later, but he had more important things to deal with at the moment.

When he went to Bucky's room he was sitting on his bed pretending to read, pretending being the operative word since it was obvious his mind was elsewhere.

"Seriously Buck, what's wrong?" he asked. 

"Nothing's wrong Steve," Bucky said without looking up."I'm fine, honestly."

"We both know that's not true," Steve said."Come on. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"Who says I want your help?" Bucky snapped. Steve recoiled.Now he _knew_ something was wrong. He could count on one hand the number of times Bucky had snapped at him.

"Tell me what's bothering you," he said, his voice pleading."Please. I want to help."

"Somebody insulted you,okay?" Bucky said teresly."A couple of the guys I work with are people we used to know from school, and one of them asked me if I was still friends with you, and of course I said yes, because I didn't think they cared all that much, you know? But... when they heard that they started making fun of me, laughing at me for 'letting you hang around',like my friendship was some kind of favor to you, and I can handle people insulting me, but then they turned on you. They started calling you stupid and weak and everything like that, I just...I-I snapped. It took everything I had not to deck the whole lot of them."

Steve laughed.

"Do you really I could've made it as far as I have if I hadn't learned to handle stuff like that?" he asked. Bucky didn't answer. He seemed not to be able to argue with Steve's statement. 

"Guess you can take care of yourself, huh?" he asked quietly.

"Guess I can," Steve replied.

"You know that's not gonna stop me from defending you, right?"

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Bucky smiled his familiar devil-may-care smile, and Steve was glad to have his best friend back.


End file.
